Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
Velvety smooth, creamy Lemon Cheesecake Mousse is one easy and pleasing lemon dessert recipe. If you are a fan of mousse, you have to try my lemon inspired mousse. The citrus is incredible next to the cheesecake mousse. A no-bake mousse that will transform your life.
I went a little crazy the other week buying Jello. It was on sale and I had a couple of coupons and couldn’t pass up the opportunity. With all my bargain Jello, I needed to come up with some ways to use it. I could make regular ol’ Jello which I will probably end up doing when John goes in for his dental surgery and can’t eat solid food. But I was thinking that is a bit blah. I settled on making mousse! I added a whole package of cream cheese to make it super creamy and oh so special. Not light on calories, but it’s worth every bite!
It’s also NO-BAKE – the best kind of dessert ever. Who wants to turn the oven on in this heat? Not this girl.
Ingredients
The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.
- Lemon Jello
- Boiling water
- Cream cheese
- Cold water
- Cool Whip
- Berries (for garnish)
How to Make Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
- Step One: Add lemon Jello to a bowl and pour in the boiling water. Stir until Jello is completely dissolved.
- Step Two: Pour Jello mixture into a blender. Add in cream cheese and cold water and blend for 1 minute or until smooth.
- Step Three: Pour mixture into a large bowl and add in Cool Whip. Mix together until well blended and smooth.
- Step Four: Spoon into four to six dessert dishes (depends on how full you want them). Place in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Step Five: When ready to serve, top with berries or Cool Whip.
Hold yourself back from eating it right out of the bowl. Trust me, you’ll want it to sit for a couple of hours in the fridge so it gets that light, fluffy texture. It’s even better then!
How Do You Top Cheesecake Mousse
I topped ours off with fresh blackberries, but you could leave off the berries or add a dollop of Cool Whip on top. Or live on the wild side and add berries AND Cool Whip. There ya go!
Three ingredients (Jello, cream cheese + Cool Whip) or four, if you count water and no-bake. That, my friends, is a winner, in my books!
You can make your own Cool Whip, too!
You might also like my Raspberry Cheesecake Cups, Cherry Mousse and Strawberry Mousse.
Can I Add a Graham Cracker Crust to this Cheesecake Mousse?
Yes. You can make a homemade crust with graham crackers that are crumbled, butter, and a tad bit of sugar. Then press it down in the bottom of the container, and top with the mousse. It adds even more flavor and gives it a cheesecake feel.
How to Serve Lemon Mousse
You want to serve your lemon mousse cold. Because of the ingredients in this recipe, it needs to be chilled. Add on fresh berries, a mint leaf, or even whipped cream. Just make sure that you keep your mousse refrigerated.
Can I Make This Mousse Ahead of Time?
Absolutely. You can whip up this Lemon Cheesecake Mousse a day before you plan to serve it. Just prep it fully and then cover each mousse and store in the fridge. When you are ready to serve, top with the fresh fruit or however you would like.
How Long Does Lemon Cheesecake Mousse Last?
You can store your mousse for 3-4 days before it will begin to go bad. This is a fantastic grab and go snack that you can serve up for after dinner, parties, or even as a birthday treat.
I use glass containers to store my mousse but you are welcome to use any kind you want. Just ensure it is covered, to protect the mousse.
I have even made this recipe for Easter, Mother’s Day, and so many more occasions.
What’s The Difference Between Mousse and Pudding?
The biggest difference between a mousse and a pudding is mousse tends to be a lot more of a lighter dessert. Puddings are a lot thicker in texture, but both are a refreshing dessert option. Mousse you can top with fresh fruit, mint leaves, and more. Where pudding tends to eat it alone since it is heavier.
Looking for more desserts
- Fruit Cocktail Dessert | Creamy, sweet, and bursting with fresh fruit flavor. A really easy and fantastic dessert that is great for kids and adults.
- Creamy Fruit Salad | A great option for a quick and easy potluck dish, holiday dessert, or even mid-day treat. Give this recipe a try next time you want to add some fruit into your diet.
- Grapefruit Smoothie Bowl | Kickstart your morning with this smoothie bowl recipe. Lots of fantastic toppings for a nutritious and tasty breakfast.
Can You Freeze Lemon Mousse?
You can freeze this mousse. If you have never tried frozen mousse it is like really incredible ice cream in a sense. Creamy, smooth, and rich in flavor.
You’ll also like Lemonade Cookies, Lime Cheesecake Parfaits, Lemon Bars, Lemon Tiramisu, Strawberry Cheesecake Bars, Lemon Cheese Bars, Homemade Lemon Curd and Lemon Curd Coconut Macaroons.
Would you make your mousse with lemon Jello or would you try another flavor?
Follow me on Instagram @simplystacieblog, Facebook at Simply Stacie, TikTok @simplystacierecipes or Pinterest at @simplystacie and let me know how you liked this recipe and my other recipes.
Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
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Video
Ingredients
- 1 package lemon Jello 4 serving size
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 package cream cheese 8oz/250g package, softened
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 cup Cool Whip
- berries for garnish
Instructions
- Add lemon Jello to a bowl and pour in the boiling water. Stir until Jello is completely dissolved.
- Pour Jello mixture into a blender. Add in cream cheese and cold water and blend for 1 minute or until smooth.
- Pour mixture into a large bowl and add in Cool Whip. Mix together until well blended and smooth.
- Spoon into four to six dessert dishes (depends on how full you want them). Place in the fridge for 2 hours.
- When ready to serve, top with berries or Cool Whip.
Equipment
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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I want to triple this recipe and use the filling to pipe into puff pastry cups for small individual desserts topped with a bit of lemon zest.. It sounds like the filling is stable enough that it wouldn’t cause the cups to become soggy., Do you agree Stacie? It’s for a large group and I don’t want to serve a soggy dessert. Also, where can I find the rest of the reviews??The post says there are 218 reviews, but I can only see a few. Thank you!!
I just made this and tasted it before putting into dessert glasses. It was really good, but our dinner theme is “lemons” and I wanted the lemon to stand out. I added the zest of one lemon and it did the trick! I garnished with fresh berries, cool whip and a lemon slice, so pretty!
Thank you for the recipe!
Can you make it with sugar free jello and fat free cream cheese or light cream cheese to save on calories and also make it diabetic friendly??
I haven’t tried it that way, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Could I replace whipped cottage cheese for the cream cheese?
That should work but I haven’t tested it.
Can you put this mousse on cake or cupcakes
Yes, you can do that.
Made this today with sugar free lemon Jello. Was SO GOOD! Oh, added a capful of almond extract. (We love the flavor)
Can you substitute real whip cream for the “coolwhip”?
You need a stabilized whipped cream so it will hold its shape. You can use a homemade “Cool Whip”. I have one here: https://www.simplystacie.net/stabilized-whipped-cream/
I’m going to try making chocolate and espresso versions of this with Knox unflavored gelatin.
Can I make this recipe vegetarian? My daughter doesn’t eat gelatin?
I haven’t tried it, but I have seen people use agar agar as a vegan alternative to gelatin.
My mom has been making a similar recipe for years. Exception is cool whip. She always used a pint of whipping cream with 1/4 cup of sugar I instead and always on top of a graham wafer crust. She would also top it off with a spoon of canned cherry pie filling. It was and still is an amazing dessert.
I just made this and it turned out perfectly! Thank you for such an awesome dessert recipe that is so simple and quick to make!
I just made this and am waiting for them to set in the fridge BUT when I added 1/2 cup hot water to the jello (85g box, 4 portions) it became all liquid instead of a paste like in the video. Stacy, can you please explain why? Or if I was supposed to use a larger box of jello? The flavor is delicious but I’m scared it won’t set 🙁
Autocorrect changed your name :/ Sorry Stacie*
Hi Caro,
Did it end up setting for you after you did the other steps in the recipe?
It’s super runny. Does it set up in the refrigerator? My jello wasn’t thick like the video, it was like lemon flavored water
I don’t have a blender, can I use a hand mixer?
It should work. It might take you a bit longer with a hand mixer to get it all smooth though.
Is this jello brand jello or jello brand pudding? It’s not specific.
It would be the Jello brand Jello (not the pudding).
I made this and it was runny and not mousse like. What could I have done wrong? I followed the recipe exactly.
Mine was the same way
Same for me, I followed the recipe exactly and it failed from the get go, the jello completely dissolved instead of making the paste…is the recipe wrong? Is it supposed to be lemon flavoured pudding mix?
I haven’t made it yet but I’m wondering the exact same thing!
I think I would make one batch raspberry, one batch lemon and layer both in dishes!
now we’re talking, that sounds great…how’d it turn out? maybe some broken up cookie bits and more whipped cream between the layers …pecan sandies, chessmen, nilla wafers.
The ingredients call for 1/2 c cold water? but in the directions it is not mentioned. Is it 1/2 hot AND 1/2 cold?
Omg these are fantastic! I tweaked it a bit. I made my own cool whip with heavy cream. Used the juice and pulp of 1 lemon and only added 1/4 cup cold water. Topped with blueberries. Such a hit!